Gameplay by Kevin J. Anderson Read Free Book Online

ahead of them zigzagged clearly through the trees.
    Vailret continued. “Sure, some characters called for peace, but the others enjoyed the war games even more.”
    “I’ll bet the Outsiders had a hand in that,” Delrael said.
    “The saddest part is that Turik and Sesteb were themselves the best of friends and refused to take part in the fighting. But the other characters forced them to engage in a duel to the death. More games. Being a lot stronger, Turik killed Sesteb and then carried his friend’s broken body with him to the lakeshore. Turik walked out until the waves closed over his head.”
    “How dramatic,” Bryl said.
    Delrael shook his head. “Shows what happens when you play a game without having the rules set down beforehand.”
    * * *
    The trees ahead of them parted, and Vailret caught his first close glimpse of the Barrier River. Grayish brown, the River roiled in its pondering progress from the top of the map to the bottom. The water hauled buried debris from what had once been normal terrain.
    The bank was a sharp black line where the forest ended and the water began. A transition zone of sticky mud bordered the hex-line, glistening wet. Vailret could hear the water moving, pushing against hidden obstacles. The river carried with it a smell of decay from the rotting remains of woodlands and quiet meadows drowned in the flood. A few birds flew out over the water, hunting for insects.
    “And that isn’t going to stop Scartaris?” Delrael shook his head. “I don’t understand what we’re up against.”
    Vailret stared across the water. “The River might buy us time if Scartaris sends an attacking army—but we need to prepare for a different type of enemy. Scartaris might have been what turned Enrod against us.”
    “Sure looks like an effective barrier to me,” Bryl said. “It’s a full hex wide—how are we going to get across?”
    “You’re going to swim, of course. Bring a rope with you,” Delrael answered with a straight face. He probably had not even considered the problem before now.
    The half-Sorcerer glared back, but Delrael’s expression showed no humor. Bryl looked away, scowling. He took out the Fire and Air Stones, but the gems could not help them.
    Vailret spoke, but he knew they weren’t going to like it. “Tareah said Enrod could carry us. On his raft.”
    Delrael and Bryl did a double take. Vailret kept himself from smiling, though he enjoyed the astonishment on their faces.
    “She told me that when the Deathspirits cursed Enrod to take his raft back and forth, they said he had to assist anyone trying to save the world. Or something like that. We of course have spotlessly pure intentions—” The corner of his mouth turned upward.
    Delrael frowned. “Since Enrod tried to destroy us all, maybe Bryl shouldn’t flaunt the Fire Stone too much.”
    Bryl stuffed the ruby gem up the sleeve of his blue cloak. “I sure don’t want him angry with me. He’s a full-blooded Sorcerer.”
    “We have to figure out how to summon him first.” Vailret squinted at the distance. His eyesight was never terribly good, but he thought he saw a smudge across the water.
    “We might not have to worry about that,” Delrael said. “There’s a bank of mist coming—straight toward us.”
    The air felt cold and clammy around them as the fog rolled in. They could hear waves lapping against an object in the water, then the silhouette became clear. A raft.
    A tormented-looking man used a long pole to haul the raft close to shore, but he remained carefully away from the hex-line. Enrod the Sentinel looked disheveled, once massively built, but now wiry. His black hair and beard showed streaks of gray spreading out around his cheeks and temples. A wild glaze covered his eyes, directing his sight deep inside, where he was trapped with his own thoughts. The Deathspirits had cursed him only a short while ago.
    Enrod did not look at the travelers, did not speak a word. He merely worked his pole,